Page 88 of Game on Askole

As we hurried to meet Eve’s ship, my psychic senses went on alert. Instinctively, my family and I formed a tight defensive circle and searched for the source.

Poof!Rho appeared. He took one look at Aunt Tess and growled. Damn, he had the demeanor of an enraged grizzly bear down pat, and why was he setting off my radar?

Why my aunt continuously antagonized him, I had no idea. Was she a touch suicidal or in love? She definitely wanted his attention. I had to ask, “What’d you do this time?”

“Put a bunch of baby ducklings in his chambers,” Aunt Tess replied.

Bree gaped at her. “You do know they shit all over everything? Right?”

Aunt Tess smiled.

“You have gone too far!” Rho reached for my aunt.

I hastily cut in front of Rho, stopping him from strangling my aunt. In my sweet, Debbie Sunshine voice, I said, “You poor thing, your muscles are all tensed up again. Let me give you a massage.” I fluttered my eyelashes at him. “If you know what I mean?”

“Touch me, and I will snap your neck.” The menace in Rho’s voice was terrifying.

Good thing I didn’t scare easily, and I was pretty sure he was all bark and no bite. He’d had plenty of opportunities to kill Aunt Tess, and she was still breathing. “All that rage isn’t good for you. What you need is a little tender loving care. Right, girls?”

Bree and Zoey looked at me like I was nuts.

A giggle escaped Kaylee.

“I do not need a female’s tender care. I am a warrior.” A muscle twitched in Rho’s cheek.

I clucked my tongue. “I told you before, if you don’t stop grinding your teeth that way, you gonna break off your choppers. Then we’d have to call you fangless. Which would totally spoil your image. I mean, you can’t be a big, bad warlord without fangs. I’m telling you this ’cause I love ya.”

Rho snarled at me.

“Group hug,” I called out.

Always up for making a male squirm, my cousins and Aunt Tess wrapped themselves around Rho. Bonus point, he couldn’t teleport away. I patted his arm carefully. “Don’t you feel better now?”

“That you still live is a mystery.”

“Hey, it’s no mystery. All of us Jones girls are hard to kill. Right, ladies?”

“Hell, yeah!” Aunt Tess and my cousins yelled in unison.

My internal radar went to DEFCON 1 as shitload of Legionnaires appeared out of nowhere.

Without a second of hesitation, all of us had our weapons out and pointed at the dead men walking.

The hallway emptied like magic. Huh? Had the Legionnaires used a cloaking device to sneak up on us, or did they have one of those gizmos that projected the illusions? Had they been the Prithvi or the weird-looking aliens?

The Legionnaires pulled their swords and rhythmically pounded their feet against the floor. “Waewae tama-nur-ra. Waewae tama-nur-ra. Waewae tama-nur-ra.”

I rolled my eyes.Dumb is forever.“I have some questions. First one is: who comes to a gunfight armed with only a sword?”

“Idiots,” Aunt Tess answered.

Bree snorted. “Plus, how in the hell do you forget to wear your battle armor to a gunfight?”

“Lilkee isn’t known for her clever battle strategies,” Kaylee commented.

The dancing stopped, and they charged toward us yelling, “Ka nate whakatu. Tutu ngarahu. Ka nate whakatu. Tutu ngarahu. Waewae tama-nur-ra.”

“Never mess with Earth girls, buster!” Zoey shouted, ducking a whizzing sword.

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